President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan boosted employment and supported national growth, the White House said Wednesday, as it battles Americans’ waning confidence in his economic policies.

A quarterly Council of Economic Advisers report estimated that the administration’s $862 billion economic recovery package raised employment by between 2.5 million and 3.6 million jobs. And for every $1 the government spends on American Reinvestment and Recovery Act programs, the private sector is investing $3.

“I'm absolutely confident we’re moving in the right direction,” Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday, unveiling the new report.

The number of “created or saved” jobs in the report is a jump from the Council’s previous estimate of 2.2 million to 2.8 million jobs in the first quarter of the year. That puts the country on track to reach the 3.5 million jobs benchmark by the end of 2010, according to the report.

The council also estimated that, as of the second quarter, the Recovery Act bolstered the gross domestic product by between 2.7 and 3.2 percent – a range similar to Congressional Budget Office estimates. At the same time, the pace of fiscal stimulus has sped up to $116 billion in the second quarter from $108 billion in the first quarter and $80 billion in the final quarter of 2009.

Republicans, however, were quick to point out that unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in June, despite emergency spending programs. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said since the stimulus was signed into law, the economy has lost 3 million private sector jobs while the federal government has added more than 400,000 jobs.

"No amount of Washington spin or fuzzy math can change the fact that the trillion-dollar 'stimulus' is failing by the Obama Administration's own standards,” Boehner said in a statement. “The writing is on the wall for the president's 'stimulus' policies and everyone - taxpayers, economists, and the rest of the world - sees it but him. The American people have had enough of Washington Democrats' job-killing spending spree and want better solutions, which is what Republicans are offering."

By contrast, Biden lashed out at “friends on the other side,” who oppose what they deem to be “big government” actions. Biden said Republicans “talk a big game about being pro-business” but have opposed tax breaks for companies that manufacture energy efficient products, like General Electric.

“We’d be barely growing at all were it not to have passed in the first place and been implemented,” Biden said, referring to the stimulus, which passed Congress last year with minimal Republican support. “The other side has done everything in their power to keep this from happening.”

"I know what they're against but I don't know what they're for,” he said. “Look, all were doing is following a long tradition of presidents who have helped business invest, provided the seed money to get whole new industries going, creating not only jobs now but jobs of the future. The other side has done everything in their power to keep this from happening."

Nevertheless, two opinion polls released Tuesday were cause for concern for Democrats and the White House. A CBS News poll found that 52 percent of Americans believe Obama has not spent enough time dealing with the economy, while a Washington Post-ABC News survey showed 54 percent of Americans disapproved of the President’s economic leadership.

And on Wednesday the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote a scathing open letter accusing the White House and Congress of taking their "eyes off the ball."

"Instead of continuing their partnership with the business community and embracing proven ideas for job creation, they vilified industries while embarking on an ill-advised source of government expansion, major tax increases, massive deficits, and job-destroying regulations," the letter said.

Christina Romer, chair of the council, acknowledged that economists may see signs of Recovery Act growth but average Americans still feel plenty of economic pain. She pledged her team will continue looking for new ideas to improve economic conditions.

"There's obviously a lot of uncertainty about any jobs estimate," she said. "And I suspect the true effects of the act will not be fully analyzed or fully appreciated for many years."